Ways

The problem with streaming video to different devices—computers, tablets, phones, and whatever else—is that they all demand subtly different streams if they’re to look their best. If you’re Netflix, which streams to 900 different types of device, that leaves you with some work to do.

According to Netflix, it has to encode each and every movie it offers in 120 different ways. Add to that the crowd sourcing of subtitles, global variation in titles and formats, and an armful of other problems, and the work Netflix has to go to makes $8 a month seem even better value. The video above was used at a Netflix recruitment fair—but gives a decent insight into how its video wends its way from Hollywood to your tablet. [GigaOm]

Instead of trying to turn all of its 90 restaurants into destination eateries, luxury hotel chain Four Seasons is taking a different approach to promote its dining venues.

The company just launched a new website called Taste, which is basically a Pinterest knockoff that showcases restaurants, chefs, and recipes at the Four Seasons.

In one section called “1 Ingredient, 3 Ways,” Four Season’s chefs will create recipes centered around (what else?) specific ingredients, and visitors can then vote on which version they like best.

There’s also a unique learning component featuring a flavor profile on the ingredient, what region it comes from, its taste, benefits, and the ways it can be prepared.

The company is banking on people discovering Taste not only through the Four Seasons’ website, but through searches such as, “What can I make tonight with apples?” It sees the website as a useful tool, while also connecting visitors with its chefs, restaurants, and ultimately its brand, we learned at a launch event for the website at the Four Seasons New York this week.

In essence, the Four Seasons is building an interactive epicurean community that is also spreading its desired image as an food-oriented hotel, one website click at a time.

Instead of just using it for brand monitoring, one company called Gnip has been working with the likes of Twitter, WordPress, and other social media publishers to do all kinds of things, from tracking diseases to stopping wildfires.

While Gnip can’t reveal which companies it works with, it told us some interesting ways in which social data is being used.

Helping hedge funds.

Gnip works with 12 hedge funds that use social media information to analyze sentiment about certain kinds of investments.

Fighting a wildfire.

Gnip worked with a company called VisionLink to track a wildfire in Boulder, Colorado. They tracked tweets and posted photos in real-time to see what areas were cut off and see where the evacuation routes were.

Gnip told us:

By layering the geo-tagged Tweets and Flickr shots they got from Gnip onto a Google map of the area, VisionLink was able to provide emergency workers with a realtime view of what was happening on the ground. With this information emergency workers were able to see where they needed more resources to respond to needs in the local community.

Reporting crimes.

Instead of calling police, people in Mexico are reporting crimes via Twitter. As the New York Times reported:

Anonieta Salazar Loftin, a doctoral student in Mexican history at the University of Texas at Dallas, said this is how her relatives back home use social media. She said that anonymous crime-focused Twitter accounts like @balaceramty — which is based in Monterrey and has more than 40,000 followers — provide a needed public service.

J. Lo’s love may not cost a thing — but she’s probably not your Valentine.

In our latest infographic, we break down the dollars behind Valentine’s Day romance: how much are people spending on flowers, candy, greeting cards and sparkly baubles? What should you buy for your Valentine this year? And what’s going on with Virginia Beach?

Target is sick and tired of customers who browse its stores and then go and buy products for cheaper prices from online retailers.

To reduce so-called “showrooming,” Target has asked its vendors to adopt one of two practices, according to the WSJ:

Last week, in an urgent letter to vendors, the Minneapolis-based chain suggested that suppliers create special products that would set it apart from competitors and shield it from the price comparisons that have become so easy for shoppers to perform on their computers and smartphones.

Where special products aren’t possible, Target asked the suppliers to help it match rivals’ prices. It also said it might create a subscription service that would give shoppers a discount on regularly purchased merchandise.

Target’s troubles with showrooming are shared by brick and mortar stores everywhere. Unfortunately small retailers may not have the clout to demand special products (see: Missoni) or help in price matching — and price matching without support from the supplier can be a losing proposition.

A lecture on the subject by Alan Penn, professor of architectural computing at University College London, has gotten a lot of buzz this year (via Good and WSJ).

Penn found that IKEA customers, following the signature yellow path, walk through the entire warehouse store. They get lost, encounter products they weren’t looking for and spend enough time shopping that they feel justified making impulse purchases.

Here’s a customer heatmap from Penn’s presentation, followed by the video.

Morran received a note from a reader, Jonathan, explaining his experience. Jonathan was trying to exchange a box set of CDs, which was missing one CD when he got it, but didn’t have the receipt. The Best Buy site pointed him toward @Twelpforce, who told him to “Talk to a manager at your local Best Buy, they should be able to assist with exchange.”

He did. When he showed the Best Buy manager the tweet from customer service, he dismissed it as an unreliable source (even though the Best Buy website tells you that the only places to ask questions are a phone number and the Twitter account). The manager also said that it’s “just social media” and “that could be anybody.”

Which begs the question: what’s the point of having a customer service Twitter account if Best Buy managers don’t even acknowledge it as a legitimate source of information? Somebody got company policy wrong here, but whether it’s the manager or the person who answered that tweet doesn’t matter. The manager shouldn’t have dismissed the Twitter help line as useless.

It shows a fundamental disconnect between the brick-and-mortar and the online world. The corporate side has accepted that social media is a viable tool, yet that feeling hasn’t been passed down to its employees — even at the manager level. Oops.

Digital Consigliere

Dr. Augustine Fou is Digital Consigliere to marketing executives, advising them on digital strategy and Unified Marketing(tm). Dr Fou has over 17 years of in-the-trenches, hands-on experience, which enables him to provide objective, in-depth assessments of their current marketing programs and recommendations for improving business impact and ROI using digital insights.